A photograph of a tractor trailer flying a small confederate flag was taken in Salt Lake City, Utah, this week. Now, a group of people, including a regional NAACP president, want to see the truck driver fired if he refuses to remove the flag.
According to Good 4 Utah, the photograph was taken on Interstate 80 and shows a Mountain States LP Gas Transport tractor trailer flying a small Confederate flag above the truck.
Several residents say they were outraged by the photo and contacted the company.
When asked about the flag, Mountain States Vice President Tom Clark responded by saying “the use of flags on our trucks are not approved by Mountain States LP Gas CO. We do not support our drivers creating possible distractions while operating company equipment. The driver has been asked to remove the flag when safe to do so.”
The company’s response, however, wasn’t enough to satisfy Jeanetta Williams, President of the Salt Lake branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
“That’s not enough,” said Williams.
“Don’t ask him. You demand it that he take it off and [if] he decides he doesn’t want to take it off then fire him. Maybe he needs to get a different job,” added Williams.
“For a company to have a flag flying on their truck with the name of the company on the truck is a disgrace and a discredit to the community that we live in. To me, it’s not a badge of honor to be flying it. It’s a way to intimidate people.”
“If we sit quiet and don’t say anything about it we’ll just see more and more people flying the Confederate flag. Company trucks, company buildings, you know what next?” Williams said.
Mountain States LP Gas Transport is an Ogden, Utah-based company that has hauled liquefied petroleum gas along the West Coast for the last 25 years.